Stretch, usually a very impatient person, would normally have been very pissed but, after seeing Terry’s great body from the waist up framed angelically in the window he was very mellow.
“Sure Terry. I’ll be right in.” I know she’s my cousin Stretch thought to himself but she sure has a great bod! Stretch moved the electric seat of the Cadillac back, opened the door, and got out. Nice ride, he thought, I’ll buy me one of these when we finish the resort job. I think I will get a bright color, like red or maybe even yellow. I want people to really notice me when I drive up.
Stretch walked into the little house that Terry had rented three months ago and walked through the living room and met his cousin in the hall way as she hurried out of the kitchen.
“I put the water on to boil and laid out cups and sugar and creamer with a jar of instant coffee. Sorry I didn’t have time to brew some real coffee.” Terry stated as she rushed past Stretch on her way to the tiny bathroom. “I took a couple of Valiums last night cause I was real nervous about this job and I guess they zonked me out.”
“Don’t worry about a thing Terry, we have plenty of time.” Stretch managed to squeeze out with a shortness of breath as he watched his cousin squeeze past him wearing nothing more than a very pleasant smile. “We have all the time in the world.”
Stretch tapped the fingers of his left hand to the beat of the song on the car’s CD player on the leather-covered steering wheel as he drove down the interstate. His mind kept recalling visions of his cousin’s lovely body. He was really pleased with himself that he had stayed in total control, especially when he could hear her singing to herself in the shower with the door wide open. The steam had rolled out the doorway along with the pleasant scent of her shampoo. He could feel the hardness in his loins but he resisted the temptation of making a fool of himself. He knew his cousin was a big showoff and if he had tried anything, she would shut him down quickly. He was thankful that he had spent most of the money Frank had sent him and a lot of the money he had gotten from the dancing queen on prostitutes. He had been very horny after all the time in prison but he had managed to satisfy most of his cravings on bought for stuff. Still, his cousin sure looked good with or without clothes.
Stretch pulled off the interstate into the first rest area after they crossed the state line into Kentucky. He reached behind him and pulled the road atlas off the back seat. “I’m going to see exactly where we’re going Terry, I haven’t been to Long Neck Luther’s place in a couple of years so I have to refresh my memory. You can stretch your legs for awhile if you like.”
“Thanks, but when I come back I want you to tell me how you pulled that great con on that old lady that thought she could dance.”
Stretch laid the atlas back on the seat after studying the route he was going to take and got out for a few minutes to smoke a cigarette. He was just grinding the butt into the ground with his heel when Terry walked up.
“Ok sport, tell me how you won over the blue-haired old lady.”
They both set down on the front seat and Stretch began explaining how easy it was to take advantage of lonely people.
“The whole idea was Frank’s,” Stretch began. “All I had to do was modify it a little bit.” He told her how he had approached several women with the idea that they were great dancers and a couple were skeptical of his plans and one was gung ho but she was leaving for the west coast in a week to visit he son in California. He finally found the right pigeon in the fifth dance club he had visited and reeled her in like a hungry fish. He had told her that word couldn’t get out that she was becoming a charter member because her friends would think that she had bought her title so everything had to be done under the table including her membership fees. She had quickly passed him five thousand dollars cash under the table at the restaurant they had met at that night and she had squeezed his hand under the table and whispered thank you. He had told her it was her talent not his acknowledgement of it and that he should be thanking her but, she had said no, it wasn’t the dance thing. It was because he was being so nice to a lonely old lady. He had tried to reassure her that it was her ability but, she had shushed him. He had written out an itinerary that would begin in six weeks and she would then start showing off her new crown. He walked out of the restaurant feeling pretty glum because he had a strong gut feeling that she knew that it was a big con but, she was lonely and liked the attention of the younger man. The feeling lasted about a block until the weight of the envelope with five thousand dollars in it pressed heavily against his suit coat and he greedily pulled it out and fanned it in front of his face.
“That’s quite a story Stretch. You and Frank sure can set up a good scheme if you put your mind to it. I sure this job in Florida will work just as well. Oh, by the way. I’m sorry I teased you so bad back at my house. You must be furious with me. I so used to using men all my life I couldn’t help myself when the opportunity arose to show off my body knowing you just got out of prison. I tell you what. I know we’re cousins but blood relations have never meant anything to me. I will show you a really good time after we finish this job in Florida. Just the two of us will go off together for a couple of weeks and it will be a time I don’t think you ever will forget. Friends?”
Francis Bartholemew Franklin III. walked slowly towards the water’s edge and stared piercingly at the green mallard swimming lazily in meandering circles around the end of the concrete and cypress dock. Bart, as he was better known, wondered just how tasty the feathered fowl would be. If it would just swim a little closer to shore. The duck was just cautious enough not to come any closer but splashed a bit of water with its feet in a seemingly teasing manner.
Bored, but not intimidated, Bart proudly turned his head and stared back at the white rear wall of the marina office. The bait tank, with its air compressor humming noisily in the afternoon breeze was kind of out of place against the gleaming new wall of the office but it was a necessary piece of equipment for those die-hard bass fisherman who demanded fresh live shiners every morning. This interruption of decor meant absolutely nothing to Bart, who could really care less. It was the buzzing of the compressor that brought memories of sleepless nights when hoards of mosquitoes were relentless in their pursuit of a blood feast meal. Those nights were long gone though since Otis and Bart had moved into the new marina apartment. The comfortable little apartment was just big enough for the two of them and was a far cry more plush than their shack had been on the banks of the old river. Yes, Bart was quite happy in his new home and all the people that visited the marina were really nice, especially that Jeff Finley, who with his son Todd always had a kind word and a little snack for Bart.
The woods, gleaming greenly in the afternoon haze, seemed like a cooling retreat from the overhead summer sun and Bart decided to spend the afternoon meandering around the tall shady trees instead of taking his usual afternoon nap. The birds, squirrels and other small creatures kept the forest alive with sounds and occasionally, a deer would wander towards the edge of the woods. That was always a thrill for Bart, to catch a glimpse of a doe or buck or even sometimes a weak legged little fawn. The adrenaline rush he received from seeing a deer would stand the hair up on the back of his neck and the primitive instincts would come alive causing a real blood rush. That was what life was all about anyways. The breaking of the normal boring routine made living really worthwhile.
Entering the woods where he usually did, Bart sensed something was not like it always was. He didn’t really know what was changed but there was strangeness about the woods he had never before experienced. Looking past the limestone boulder that marked the entrance to his usual path Bart noticed a hole about three feet in diameter that was decidedly fresh. The smell of damp earth evaded his nostrils not unlike that of a fresh grave. Bart never had smelled a fresh grave or had any knowledge of what a fresh grave even was still; he knew this was totally different. Walking over to the edge of the new hole, he stuck his head over the edge and tried to peer downward but only blackness met his eyes. The strange thing was a slight breeze was, coming out of the seemingly bottomless hole. Bart, never one to give much thought to anything let out a slight yelp and trotted quickly out of the woods. The shade of the big oak tree on the side of the marina office sounded like a much nicer place to take a nap and Bart decided he would let somebody else worry about the strange going ons in the woods. It wasn’t his job to worry about anything. All he had to do was protect Otis from any mean strangers and lie peacefully in the shade. After all a dogs life wasn’t really that hard.